16 March 2026 – More than 100 economists last week urged the Dutch parliament and the government in The Hague in an open letter to reallocate the planned two-billion-euro Green Steel subsidy. State aid despite record profits in Luxembourg. Is the deal between Thyssenkrupp and Jindal collapsing?
Economists Call for Reallocation of Green Steel Billions
More than 100 economists last week called on the Dutch parliament and the government in The Hague, in an open letter, not to approve the planned two-billion-euro Green Steel subsidy for Tata Steel Netherlands. Instead, the funds should be invested specifically in downstream manufacturing industries and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Green Steel Subsidies: Inefficient, Risky, Structurally Unsustainable
In the view of the economists who have signed this open letter, the aid package is economically inefficient and risky. The negative effects – including €1.1 billion in annual health damage, the high opportunity costs of scarce public funds, and the lack of innovation incentives – far outweigh any potential benefits.
Above all, there is a risk of a “subsidy trap.” After the initial funding, additional public money would continuously be required because the steel plant would not be able to operate independently in structural terms. In addition, there is no firm and enforceable guarantee from Tata Steel India to cover potential losses at the IJmuiden site.
Green steel will remain permanently more expensive in the Netherlands due to high energy costs – a structural geographical problem rather than a temporary market failure.
€250,000 per Job: Retraining Would Be Eight Times Cheaper
The €2 billion subsidy corresponds to more than €250,000 per job. According to the economists, targeted retraining programs for technical specialists would be eight times cheaper and more effective.
Tata Steel exports 90 percent of its production and therefore is not a major factor for the Dutch manufacturing sector, while at the same time contributing to European overcapacity in steel production.
Economists see Opportunities for SMEs: Skilled Workers, Competitiveness, Growth
Instead, the freed-up funds should be invested in the retraining of technical specialists, for example for installing heat pumps, building wind farms, and expanding power grids.
According to the economists, these sectors offer structural growth potential while simultaneously facing an acute shortage of skilled labor.
The key objective should be to strengthen the competitiveness of Europe’s steel-intensive manufacturing industries – from mechanical engineering to the automotive sector. European procurement programs for hydrogen-based steel could provide cheaper green steel than the national subsidization of a single plant.
Steel: State Aid Despite Record Profits in Luxembourg
Luxembourg’s Minister of the Economy, Lex Delles, confirmed on March 13 that ArcelorMittal received more than €20 million in state aid for research, environmental protection, and investment between 2006 and 2019.
The timing of the revelation is sensitive: only five weeks earlier the company had reported record results. Profits doubled in 2025 to $3.2 billion, partly due to sharply rising prices in Europe.
At the same time, however, the company is considering relocating up to 1,150 jobs from Luxembourg to Poland and India.
Profits Flow to Shareholders, Not to Decarbonisation
Across Europe the same pattern can be observed: the company secured around €3 billion in subsidies for green-steel projects, which it subsequently halted or postponed in Germany, Belgium, and Spain.
Instead, profits were distributed to shareholders. Between 2021 and 2024, $12 billion in payouts contrasted with only $800 million invested in decarbonization.
Steel Lobby Spreads Polemics and Hysteria
Domestic steel producers are supported by the rhetoric of the EU steel association EUROFER. The association has recently warned in increasingly hysterical terms about an “existential risk” for Europe’s steelmakers, while its own member companies continue to forecast rising earnings thanks to new EU trade protection measures and the CO2 tax CBAM.
This once again confirms that the story of “green steel” is nothing more than a fabrication designed to secure billions in subsidies financed by taxpayers’ money.
Is the Deal Between Thyssenkrupp and Jindal Collapsing?
Rumors about a possible failure of the steel deal with India’s Jindal Steel & Power caused Thyssenkrupp’s share price to lose ten percent last Friday.
We had already expressed doubts earlier about whether a deal between Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe (TKSE) and the Indian steel group would actually materialize. It would not be the first time that a competitor examined the books of the German steel giant, took away knowledge – and then declared that the deal would ultimately not proceed.
Much suggests that this may now be happening again, regardless of whether the two companies eventually reach an agreement or not.
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